Light exposure and childhood myopia

There is evidence in many countries globally that the prevalence of myopia is on the rise.

Advances in measurement technology now allow many environmental factors potentially associated with the development and progression of myopia to be quantified reliably and sampled densely. Our recent prospective longitudinal study of Australian schoolchildren, utilising wearable sensor technology has provided the first direct evidence of a significant relationship between personal ambient light exposure and eye growth in childhood;demonstrating that greater daily light exposure is associated with slower eye growth. These findings support the potential for interventions aimed at increasing daily outdoor light exposure, to reduce the development and progression of myopia in childhood.